All Night Gong Puja in St Albans

Saturday 9th – Sunday 10th January 2027 | 9:00 pm – 8:30 am
at The Yoga Hall, St Albans | £117

(Early bird £99 until 30th November)

A Night of Sound, Stillness and New Beginnings

Join Laura, Finlay, Emma, Bodhini and David for a full-night Gong Puja
a continuous sound meditation held in the nurturing space of The Yoga Hall, St Albans.

Doors open from 8.30pm, with final arrival by 9pm, giving time to settle into your space before we gather together for a gentle welcome and intention-setting circles. At 10pm, the gongs begin and continue unbroken through the night until 5.30am — ten consecutive gong baths, flowing seamlessly one into another.

When the final gong fades, we enter Shunyata — an extended period of silence in which the vibrations of the night can continue to settle and integrate. We then move towards morning with Japji, gentle yoga and an optional simple breakfast together, checking in/out with our circle before departure.

This Puja falls in the deep quiet of January, just two days after the New Moon on 7th January and only a few weeks beyond the Winter Solstice.

At this point in the turning year, darkness still holds much of the day, yet the light has begun its almost imperceptible return. The Moon, too, is newly emerging from darkness: a slender waxing crescent beginning another cycle.

There is a particular quality to this threshold — the spaciousness after an ending and before something has fully taken form. The New Moon has long been associated with stillness, inward listening and the planting of intentions: not needing to know exactly what is coming, but becoming quiet enough to sense what is asking to emerge.

Held within the sound of the gongs through the winter night, we have an unusual opportunity to rest within that space — to listen beneath the surface, allow what has completed to fall away, and make room for the first stirrings of what may come next.

Yogi Bhajan taught that a single 45-minute gong bath could clear immediate energetic blocks, while ten consecutive gong baths could reach deeper patterns and support profound healing. His student Don Conreaux developed the all-night Gong Puja around this teaching, creating an unbroken field of vibration lasting approximately 7½ hours.

Through the night you may sleep, drift between waking and dreaming, enter deep meditation or simply rest within the continuously changing landscape of sound. There is no single way to experience a Gong Puja. Each night — and each person within it — has its own journey.

Participants often describe emerging in the morning feeling lighter, clearer, deeply rested or subtly changed, as though something has shifted beneath the level of the thinking mind.

The Gong Puja brings together the ancient relationship between sound, ceremony and consciousness with our contemporary understanding of the nervous system and the restorative power of deep rest. For one winter night, we step out of ordinary time and into a continuous field of sound, silence and listening — carried through darkness towards the returning light.

FAQs

Is the Gong Puja suitable for everyone?

Gong baths are not recommended for anyone with a pacemaker, epilepsy, or in the first trimester of pregnancy. If you have concerns or medical conditions, please consult your doctor and discuss them with us before booking.

Do I need experience?

Some previous gong bath experience is recommended. The Puja can be intense for first-timers due to the extended duration.

Laura

Laura began presenting Sound Baths in the 1990s, alongside teaching Hatha Yoga. With three fellow practitioners in West London, she explored the profound effects of sound as a meditative and healing art. Her love of the gong blossomed through her deep connection with Kundalini Yoga, where the gong is honoured as a powerful tool for transformation and clearing subconscious blocks. Laura later trained with Guru Dharam and continues to weave sound into her yoga practice and Kundalini Yoga teaching. Together with her husband, Finlay, she shares Sound Baths featuring the gong at The Yoga Hall, creating spaces of deep rest and renewal.

Finlay

Finlay began sound healing with the didgeridoo to supplement his Traditional Chinese Medicine practice in 1994. Together with Laura they held sound baths in London from 1999 that included many instruments, overtoning, chanting, mantra and poetry reading.

Now running The Yoga Hall with Laura, he teaches Hatha Yoga, practices Integral Therapy, co-leads the online community A New Republic of the Heart, and studies developmental philosophies and modern and traditional spiritual teachings.

Emma

Emma began working with sound as a natural progression of her Reiki practice and passion for holistic wellbeing. Having experienced their benefits on her own healing journey, she founded Hælan to offer restorative spaces for rest and renewal. She leads sound meditations across Herts & Beds, blending crystal singing bowls, Reiki drum, gong, percussion and voice, and also offers one-to-one and private group Reiki and sound sessions.

Bodhini

Bodhini began sound therapy to complement her meditation classes and retreats in 2014. Together with her partner, David they have been sharing sound baths around Hertfordshire for almost ten years that include gongs, Crystal & Himalayan singing bowls, chanting and more.

Through Bodhi Aspirations, Bodhini offers a diverse range of services, including silent retreat days, guided meditations, and seasonal sound journeys.

David

David is a classically trained gong player, completing his studies in 2018 after an immersive year of both residential and home based practice. Together with his partner, Bodhini, he has guided countless soundbaths for public and corporate groups alike, inviting audiences across Hertfordshire and beyond to experience deep, transformative resonance through the voice of the gong.

Guided by an enduring reverence for ancient wisdom, David has also given talks and workshops on the mysteries of sacred sound, exploring the history of the gong from the bronze forges of Mesopotamia to the sleep temples and dream chambers of ancient Egypt and Greece, illuminating the timeless connection between sound, frequency and vibration.

 *Japji Sahib – the Song of the Soul

Written by Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, Japji is a sacred poetic composition in the Gurmukhi language. Its sound current (Nad) weaves powerful vibrations that can neutralise and reshape habitual thought patterns. Reciting or meditating on Japji aligns us with the higher self, awakens consciousness, and attunes us to the universal truth (Sat Nam). Comprising 38 pauris (verses), each carrying distinct energetic frequencies, Japji is revered in Kundalini Yoga as both a spiritual text and a profound meditative technology for transformation, balance, and expanded awareness.

A wonderful Sound Bath experience — A psychotherapist’s view

“As a psychotherapist I am always curious what practices are out there that bring calm and a softening of our hearts. And I found the gong / sound bath at the Yoga Hall in St Albans a truly profound and restorative experience. From the moment I entered, the studio felt incredibly peaceful and safe — the perfect atmosphere for a good, deep rest.

The powerful and yet gentle vibrations of the gong and singing bowls felt very good for balancing the nervous system. They seem to effortlessly bypass our usual noisy mind chatter, speaking directly to the body. For those who are curious, from a neurobiological perspective, these low-frequency sounds stimulate your vagus nerve, helping you transition out of fight-or-flight and into a state of rest-and-digest. During the sound bath session, I noticed my breathing deepen, my muscles soften, and a profound, quiet stillness emerge within me. I believe sound baths offer a way to heal that goes beyond words. 

And for those who are new to a Sound Bath Experience, it’s not really a meditation, you’re laying down on a yoga mat with lots of nice soft blankets to keep you warm and cosy, and eye mask if you like and a pillow for under your head. And then you just rest, laying down. I could definitely hear a few soft snores around me 🙂.

I left feeling deeply rebalanced, grounded, and centred. And I slept so well afterwards! I wholeheartedly recommend this Sound Bath experience to anyone looking for a deep rest of body, mind and soul.”

— Karin / Psychotherapist